Jean-Marc Nahas

Jean-Marc Nahas was born in Beirut in 1963. He is a renowned Lebanese-Canadian artist known for his dramatic expressionist style and deeply personal visual language. He attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA), Paris, and Penninghen. At the age of 17, he moved to Paris and trained under influential artists including Pierre Alechinsky, Vladimir Veličković, Ferit Iscan, and Albert Zavaro.

Nahas grew up in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War, an experience that profoundly shaped his worldview and artistic voice. His work often explores the themes of war, peace, and social inequality, particularly the plight of children. He describes his art as a form of writing—whether poetry, storytelling, or personal letters—calling it “a private diary.” This intimate approach imbues his paintings with emotional intensity and narrative depth.

His artworks are marked by rapid, rhythmic brushstrokes and expressive figures that often appear mid-action, their faces etched with emotion, inviting viewers into their stories. Animal-like motifs frequently populate his compositions, and his simplified, almost calligraphic line work emphasizes the clarity of message over ornamental detail. As he puts it, “The simplification of my drawing is essential to be able to understand it—likewise for my paintings.”

Nahas also devotes significant attention to the female nude, exploring its movement through space with elegance and tension. His most recent major retrospective was held at the Beirut Exhibition Center in 2013. Previously represented by Galerie Marwan Hoss in Paris, he is currently represented by Opera Gallery Beirut.

Dividing his time between North America, Europe, and the Middle East, Nahas's work is included in major museums and collections worldwide, including the British Museum, the Sursock Museum, Bank Audi Foundation, CAP Foundation Kuwait, and private collections such as the Macklowe Collection in New York, among others.

Latest Solo Shows:

2018 Beirut Art Fair (Cadillac painting – installation)

2018 Sherif Tabet, art gallery Beirut

2018 Temps Libre, Montreal

2018 Miami Design District Art Space,Miami Florida

2019 Lebanese Talent Art Gallery, Beirut

2019 Banzy art Gallery, Beirut

2019 Cinéma du parc, Montreal

2019 Art Basel, Miami Florida

2019 Clio Art Fair New York

2020 Contemporary Art Platform Gallery, Kuwait

Latest group shows:

2011 Subtitled: “with Narratives from Lebanon”, Royal College of Art,

London
Rebirth, Beirut Exhibition Center, Beirut
2008 “Reorientations:

Contemporary Arab Representations”, European Parliament, Brussels
2004 “Fall

Exhibition”, Sursok Museum Beirut, Lebanon

Available works